Una 1 Rochester Restaurant

Una 1 Rochester Restaurant
1 Rochester Park

http://www.onerochester.com/

https://www.facebook.com/1RochesterGroup


Impeccable Fine Dining, Memorable Experience

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 9
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 10
Value for Money: 9
Spent about SGD $180 per person.


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Dear Chef Jean-Philippe Patruno & team at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant,

Thank you for making our company event a memorable success. We were very pleased with the outstanding food, and the impeccable, professional service demonstrated by your staff.

Una Restaurant Signage

Ambience at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant is lovely. The abundance of greenery and well thought out spaces create a feeling of calm relaxation during the day, and a more intimate setting at night.

Una Restaurant Exterior Seating

Una Restaurant Interior Seating

The spacious outdoor alfresco dining area is beautiful with its high chairs and fountain waterfalls, and the indoor dining area exudes a casual elegance and sophistication with well chosen, comfortable furniture and art pieces. We also felt the choice of Bossa Nova piped music at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant was appropriate for its setting.

Waterfall

Chilling Area

Thank you for letting us have the exclusive use of the Private Dining Area on the 2nd floor, as well as the accompanying Private Bar, Private Banquet / Tapas Area, Bridal Changing Room, and Projector & Screen at no extra charge. The equipment (Projector, Screen, Audio/Video, Sound System) were in great working order, and we also liked that the lights could be brightened or dimmed upon request. The view of greenery from the upper level is serene, and I noticed you actually have Rambutan trees growing in your premises!

Private Dining Area

Private Bar

Private Banquet Area

I must commend your team of service staff at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant for their outstanding, professional and efficient service rendered during our company event. In particular, you and Ivee for your openess in accomodating requests and working through last minute changes. And Peter for handling on-the-spot guests requests to change meals, as well as your kitchen for preparing food efficiently and quickly, such that none of our guests waited more than 10 minutes for their meals.

I was particularly impressed that when we requested a change of tables for our certificate display, your staff actually sourced a table, cut up a roll of cloth for the table top, and found skirting to dress the table, all within 15 minutes. Aside from a minor hiccup in the beginning of meal service where the canapes and amuse bouche took quite long to be served, the rest of the night went exceedingly well.

Una Restaurant Service Setup

What initially led us to consider Una 1 Rochester Restaurant was the fact that you could provide Halal certified meals. Although Una 1 Rochester Restaurant serves Western style fine dining, in particular cuisine from the South of Latitude 30° - Spain, Italy, and France, your partnership with a Halal certified kitchen to prepare Halal / Muslim meals that is presented in a similar manner to your actual dishes, tastes almost the same, and is even served with Halal certified cutlery, is fantastic.

In fact, feedback from our guests is that Una 1 Rochester Restaurant is probably the first high-end, premium fine dining restaurant that is able to served Halal certified Western meals, that they've encountered! Our Muslim guests said the quality and taste of the Halal meals is extremely good, and are pleased that your staff took the trouble to provide Halal cutlery, at no additional charge. They were surprised that you also provide for / organise Muslim Weddings!

In fact, most other Western fine dining establishments would only provide no pork no lard meals; or charge for Halal meals; or would not be able to provide Halal Western meals; or simply opt to prepare a Halal Asian dish instead of Spanish, French, or Italian dishes. In this regard, Una 1 Rochester Restaurant is head and shoulders above other Western fine dining restaurants.

Table Placement

We had originally agreed to a 5-course set menu (2 x Canapes, Amuse Bouche, Appetizer, Mains, 2 x Desserts - Per Person), at a fixed price of SGD $130 per person (without GST & Service Charge), although we ordered additional dishes at the last minute (for a total of SGD $180 per person, with House Wine / Beer + GST + Service Charge). Thanks for giving us the free flow of water, soft drinks, and fruit juices throughout the night!

The Pimentos De Padron (SGD $16 Ala-Carte Tapas Portion, SGD $10 Set Menu Canape Portion) featured perfectly grilled Spanish Padron peppers. Most Padron peppers have a mild taste, only 5% are spicy due to the amount of water and sunlight they receive when grown, but fortunately, all the ones we had that evening were mild. I like how your staff describe it as "a lucky draw", as there is no way to tell the difference just by looking at them!

Pimentos De Padron

The Una Olives, Saffron Garlic, Olive Oil (SGD $8 Ala-Carte Tapas Portion) were plump and moist, soaking up the fragrant essence of the saffron garlic and olive oil. I like the garnish of rosemary sprig, but it didn't add much flavour to the overall dish. Some of our guests didn't quite fancy this though, as olives are just olives after all.

Una Olives, Saffron Garlic, Olive Oil

The Octopus, Ratte Potatoes, Smoked Paprika (SGD $29 Ala-Carte Tapas Portion) were well received. The octopus was plump and fresh, with a meaty bite and clean taste. The potatoes had a slight sweetness and a slight earthy taste, which paired well with the octopus.

Octopus, Ratte Potatoes, Smoked Paprika

Everyone loved the Jamon Iberico Croquetta (SGD $12 Ala-Carte Tapas Portion). The potato ball was warm, and the gooey cheese within was lovely and savoury, picking up its slightly salty, smoky flavour from the Jamon Iberico / black Iberian cured ham.

Jamon Iberico Croquetta

The Latte (SGD $6) was only decent, and the art wasn't precise. Average, but I suppose most of your guests don't drink coffee at night, only during your Brunch hours.

Latte

Thanks for the complimentary Bread Basket, I know I spotted at least 3 different types of bread within. Afraid I didn't get to try it as I was busy at the time, but the ladies apparently loved the bread sticks.

Bread Basket

While the Arroz Negro, Crispy Squid (SGD $29 Ala-Carte Tapas Portion, SGD $10 Set Menu Canape Portion) had tasty, savoury, fluffy rice which worked well with the crispy, crunch squid, in hindsight, it was a poor choice on our part for a canape. It's somewhat of an acquired taste, and some of the ladies avoided it for fear of staining their teeth at the start of the event.

Arroz Negro, Crispy Squid

The amuse bouche Watermelon, Buffalo Mozzarella, Walnut, Mint was a great start, working as both a palate cleanser, and a refreshing burst to whet the appetite. Loved the presentation in a small jar!

Watermelon, Buffalo Mozzarella, Walnut, Mint

Your signature appetizer of Scallops A La Plancha, Veal Cheeks, Iberico Ham Crisp (SGD $28) was very highly recommended, and I now understand why. Everyone was raving about how perfectly done the scallops were, plump, juicy, and just firm enough in texture. The veal was fork tender, coming apart easily when bit, while the black Iberian ham crisp lent a salty, savoury crunch to this surf and turf dish. The bed of mashed potato was smooth and creamy, absorbing the flavours of the veal and scallops.

Scallops A La Plancha, Veal Cheeks, Iberico Ham Crisp

The mains of Wagyu Sirloin, Pequilo Peppers, Roquefort (SGD $50) has wagyu beef that was done to our liking, I had mine medium rare. The beef is very tender and flavourful, and the roquefort cheese added a burst of sharp tangy taste to each mouthful. The spinach and Spanish pequilo peppers added a vibrant colour on the plate, and a slight sweetness to the overall dish.

Wagyu Sirloin, Pequilo Peppers, Roquefort

Wagyu Sirloin, Pequilo Peppers, Roquefort

The mains of Monkfish, Crispy Courgette Flower, Lobster Jus (SGD $33) featured monkfish which had a nice doneness, with a slight sweetness and firm texture. The Lobster Jus is potent to the right degree, lending the flavours of the ocean / crustaceans, and the crisp courgette flower was an interesting choice, tasting faintly of zucchini but slightly sweeter. One of our colleagues joked that the Halal version of this dish has monkfish that is prayed over!

Monkfish, Crispy Courgette Flower, Lobster Jus

The dessert of Panna Cotta, Popcorn (SGD $14) went down well with our guests, especially the crisp, crunchy popcorn-like bits on the top. The panna cotta itself was smooth, creamy, and sweet, and the passionfruit puree within gave it a tropical, fruity sweet taste.

The off-menu / special request dessert item of Chocolate Ganache In Chocolate Soil didn't fare as well, as many of our guests thought it overly sweet. The texture was nice though, being thick, rich, and creamy, but the overpowering sweetness made it hard to finish.

Panna Cotta, Popcorn And Chocolate Ganache In Chocolate Soil

Panna Cotta, Popcorn And Chocolate Ganache In Chocolate Soil

Overall, we had a fantastic evening at Una 1 Rochester Restaurant, and the bosses are likely to strongly consider this as a venue for future events our company may hold. I personally will be visiting again to try the brunch menu! Thanks once again for all the assistance, it's much appreciated!

Best Regards,
Ivan Teh RunningMan.

P.S.: Let us know what were the 2 labels of red wine and 1 label of white wine we had that evening?


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